Title

Author(s)

School Name

Academic Magnet High School

Grade Level

12th Grade

Presentation Topic

Engineering

Presentation Type

Mentored

Written Paper Award

1st Place

Abstract

Keratoconus is a degenerative disorder of the cornea that affects 1 in 2000 people worldwide. Corneal collagen crosslinking [CXL] has been developed as a treatment option for this disorder. Many different CXL protocols exist, so the development of a model that can predict the effect a certain CXL protocol will have on the cornea is necessary. Current models of CXL do not account for oxygen, but it has been shown in various studies that oxygen is needed for CXL. To fill this gap, an oxygen-dependent model of CXL was developed. Corneas were crosslinked for 10, 20, and 30 minutes, and tensile tests were performed to determine the Young’s Modulus [YM]. The results of the tensile tests were compared to the model that was developed and used to validate it. Ultimately, it was concluded that the oxygen-dependent diffusion model that was developed was successful in modeling the CXL procedure and could be useful in determining the efficacy of different CXL protocols and optimizing the CXL procedure.

Start Date

End Date

4-11-2015 11:45 AM

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Since November 12, 2015

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Apr 11th, 11:30 AMApr 11th, 11:45 AM

Developing a Computer Model that Predicts the Outcome of Corneal Collagen Crosslinking

Keratoconus is a degenerative disorder of the cornea that affects 1 in 2000 people worldwide. Corneal collagen crosslinking [CXL] has been developed as a treatment option for this disorder. Many different CXL protocols exist, so the development of a model that can predict the effect a certain CXL protocol will have on the cornea is necessary. Current models of CXL do not account for oxygen, but it has been shown in various studies that oxygen is needed for CXL. To fill this gap, an oxygen-dependent model of CXL was developed. Corneas were crosslinked for 10, 20, and 30 minutes, and tensile tests were performed to determine the Young’s Modulus [YM]. The results of the tensile tests were compared to the model that was developed and used to validate it. Ultimately, it was concluded that the oxygen-dependent diffusion model that was developed was successful in modeling the CXL procedure and could be useful in determining the efficacy of different CXL protocols and optimizing the CXL procedure.